George Brown Rookies of the Year received the honour of being two of the Pan Am Games’ torchbearers

Heather Lochhead serves the ball for the GBC women’s volleyball team. Photo by Thomas Chung/GBC Athletics

“I wish everyone could carry the torch with me,” exclaims Heather Lochhead, a George Brown College (GBC) Huskies volleyball player, and student in the sports and event marketing post-graduate certificate program.

After being awarded female rookie of the year, Lochhead will be a torchbearer for the Pan Am games this summer, two honours she finds both unexpected and shocking.

Lochhead is humble as she describes her feelings about receiving the award, saying, “I basically knew I wasn’t going to win and then it happened and I’ve never been so shocked in my life. No words could describe the feeling.”

Described on the official Pan Am Games website as, “the world’s third largest international multi-sport games,” the games have been hosted by Canada before. However, this summer marks the first time Toronto will be the host city for these games, which will occur from July 10 to July 26, 2015.

“Being an actual torchbearer is a one-time opportunity for me and I hope my mom can watch,” says Lochhead.

Lochhead believes that the opportunity will impact future generations and says it will become a story for her grandchildren.

“(The Pan Am Games are) the first multi-sport thing to come to Toronto, so it’s a big deal,” says Lochhead.

Shared recipient for male rookie of the year, Andrew Murrall, Huskies baseball player, feels that being a torchbearer is “really good recognition for (GBC) athletes.”

Aside from making him “feel very important,” Murrall believes the GBC rookies of the year getting to carry the torch is “an example of what George Brown athletics has to offer.”

George Brown College baseball pitcher Andrew Murrall has been named a torchbearer for the Pan Am Games. Photo by Thomas Chung/GBC Athletics